The present invention relates to medical equipment, and more particularly to surgical apparatus for suturing soft tissues; it can be advantageously used for suturing organs with thick walls, for example, the walls of the left ventricle of the heart, or the liver, with lengths of a suturing material with spicules made of metal or of a resorptive material.
Known in the art is the use of special wires with spicules for the suturing of tendons. Such wires have a round or triangular cross-section, or are band-shaped. The spicules may be directed either unilaterally, so as to provide for the withdrawal of the wire upon the adhesion of the sutured tissues, or multilaterally, in which case the spicules must be made of a resorptive material.
The suturing of tissues with wire having spicules is performed manually. ATRAUMATIC needles (Registered Trademark) are attached to the ends of lengths of the wire and the needles are inserted, during suturing, into the end faces of the incised tendon.
Then, the needles with the ends of the wire secured therein are brought out through the tendon and the surrounding tissue onto the surface of the patient's body, where they are secured by means of a perforated washer, whereupon the needles are removed.
After a period of time necessary for the adhesion of the tendons, the wire is withdrawn.
The necessity of securing the ends of the wire with spicules on the surface of the body prevents the use of such wires for suturing tissues of internal organs.
Besides, prior art wires cannot be used for suturing organs with thick walls, since the suture effected with the wire passes close to the surface of the organ, which results in the formation of a pocket within the wound and, subsequently, retards regeneration of the tissues.
The necessity of suturing the tissues with wire by hand prolongs the time of surgery.